


I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire

by Selma



Series: Scratch track [3]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Gen, Hell's Studio AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24507421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selma/pseuds/Selma
Summary: “I’ve always seen myself as bit of a Renaissance-man.”“You’re a crackpot more like it.”“Ah!” Joey waggled his finger in Sammy’s direction. “That’s what they said about Galileo too.”Sammy slapped the offending appendage away with a sneer.“Well, maybe they were right!” he snapped.**The studio celebrates its anniversary. Joey plans a surprise. Alice tries a new look. Wally runs into difficulties while cleaning and there are definitely no wasps in the basement.
Series: Scratch track [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/783513
Comments: 22
Kudos: 54





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so... I have had this story on my computer for what I now realize is for a few years. The first draft was done probably before all the chapters were out. And every time a new chapter came out, I added a little as I edited... which turned this fic into the monster it is now. The story is pretty much finished, but not sure how often I will be able to update but I want to get started so I can finish this fic even if it is just for me.

After all these years, Henry Stein was convinced that neither devil magic, the apocalypse nor Sammy Lawrence fighting the ink machine could ever bring down _Joey Drew Studios_. But the way Joey Drew himself was smiling at the very moment brought about the kind of deep existential dread that not even watching a cartoon make a cartoon about himself could bring about.

Most of the studio had gathered at the small post production party. Or an “ _I can’t believe we made the deadline again_ _”_ -party as they were usually called by those working at the studio. The others were busy actually relaxing and celebrating to notice the way Joey kept smiling. But Henry noticed, that was his curse in life.

It wasn’t the mustache twirling grin of a mad man about to tie a woman to a railroad track. No, it was one of those slightly dreamy smiles that wasn’t unusual to see on Joey’s face most of the time. He wasn’t even doing anything in particular that was cause for worry. While the party was in full swing, Joey was hanging back, quietly enjoying his drink and… _smiling_. It worried Henry and by now he’d learned to trust his gut feeling.

“Are you about done with this whole wallflower routine?”

Henry started at the sudden question, coming from somewhere closer to the floor. He fumbled with the glass he had been handed almost an hour ago, careful not to drop it, before he glanced down. Bendy was leaning against the wall next to him, swirling the last of the ink in his own glass.

“This is a party after all. Even Sammy is having fun.” Bendy frowned. “He might be having fun? It’s hard to tell with that guy. At least Boris seems to have fun talking to that grump, and don’t ask me how that’s possible.”

Before Henry could answer, the aforementioned grump turned up – being dragged along by Alice and Boris, with an unusually smug Susie trailing behind.

“Maybe Boris enjoys talking to someone intelligent for once," Sammy said, having caught the end of their conversation.

“Oh yeah?” the affronted tone Bendy put on was altogether betrayed by his pleased grin. “Then why would he- “

“Ah-hem!” Alice interrupted. “Henry, you looked a little glum over here so we thought you’d like to know Sammy here promised to play us something.”

Sammy was holding onto his banjo with a sort of white-knuckle death grip. He had actually been performing during the evening already, joining a couple of the guys and gals from the band. Henry had a slight suspicion Susie and Alice had convinced him to leave for a while since Sammy had repeatedly stopped the performance in order to offer the band _constructive criticism_.

“I didn’t promise anything,” Sammy said.

“Oh, but you have to!” Susie said. “We’ve heard you practicing that new tune of yours these past few days. We’re dying to hear the whole thing.”

“I’ll end your suffering alright."

The threat might have worked better if it wasn't for the fact that Sammy did no actual attempt to extract himself from the group or from the friendly grip Boris had around his shoulders

Or the fact that he threw an impatient look towards Henry and asked: "Are you coming or not?" as if he hadn't been causally muttering death threats just then.

“Uh, where are we going?” Henry said.

“Sammy is a shy,” Bendy said solemnly, pulling himself up and straightening an imaginary monocle. “But he graciously invited us to the drawing room for refreshment and some light entertainment.”

Alice rolled her eyes.

“We’re going back to Sammy’s office,” she said.

“What?” Bendy grinned. “Wasn’t I clear on that?”

“I didn’t actually invite you… “

“Not in so many words, Sammy, but- “

“Not in any words, actually.”

“But I know how you really feel,” Bendy said as he patted Sammy on the arm.

“Hardly,” Sammy said. “Then you wouldn’t be standing so close.”

“How so?”

“Because right know I’m feeling torn between smacking you on the head with the banjo and not wanting to break my banjo on your fat head.”

“Is that any way to talk to your boss, huh?”

“It’s the only way to talk to you.”

Bendy didn’t even try to look offended at that. He wouldn’t have been successful even if he tried. Sammy’s ongoing quest to avoid appearing anywhere close to friendly always managed to put a smile on Bendy's face.

“Boss or not, we’re off the clock right now,” Alice chimed in. “And speaking of the clock, it’s getting late so let’s get going. Some of us need our beauty sleep after those all nighters we've been pulling."

“Yeah!” Susie said before Bendy even had the chance to think up some wisecrack about the need for beauty sleep. “Let’s go! And you’re coming too, Henry.”

“Of course, wouldn’t want to miss a rare solo performance by Sammy Lawrence.”

It would be good for him to get his mind of things, Henry thought. All this worry was probably just because all the work he put in. It had been quite the race to the finish line this time around.

“Oh, good I was hoping to you find you all together.”

Henry slowly turned around and found Joey standing just beside them. They locked eyes and what Joey did next sent chills down his spine.

Joey Drew of all people should not been allowed to wink mischievously at anyone or anything.

“You know,” Joey rubbed his hands together. “I’ve been thinking… “

Especially if he was going to follow the wink up by saying something like that. Henry imagined that the dread he felt at the very moment was something almost primal, something his ancestors must have felt way back when, as their close friend said something along the lines of "You know what? I _am_ going to try and pet that big cat over there. Yes, the one with the fangs. I bet he's a real sweetheart."

“I’ve always seen myself as bit of a Renaissance-man.”

And it was going from bad to worse. Joey was starting to use what Henry had come to recognize as his _speech voice_. Not a good sign as Joey could meander through enough metaphors about dreams, the nature of dreams and realizing your dreams to keep them all rooted to the spot well into next week.

“You’re a crackpot more like it.”

If Sammy was trying to break Joey’s momentum or if he just couldn’t help himself was unclear.

“Ah!” Joey waggled his finger in Sammy’s direction. “That’s what they said about Galileo too.”

Sammy slapped the offending appendage away with a sneer.

“Well, maybe they were right!” he snapped.

Joey’s only response was a raised eyebrow and the slightest hint of a smirk (almost impossible to spot for the untrained eye but Henry had years of training) and took that as his cue to continue his impromptu little speech even as Sammy’s scowl deepened.

“This studio is full of people who have all proved themselves able to do anything they set their minds to. We started out with an idea, now we got cartoons and even toys out on the shelves. Our little studio has grown so much over the years and I can’t even begin to tell you all just how proud that makes me. But it also made me think, why stop here?”

Alice kept straightening her halo and exchanging significant looks with Susie. Even Bendy's grin seemed to have taken on a slightly more manic edge to it. Henry was just trying to remember to breathe.

Only Boris and Sammy didn’t seem affected. The former couldn’t stop being encouraging even if he tried and the latter looked like he was still trying to come up with another insult.

“With the studio’s anniversary coming up on us, I figured we should have a real special celebration of all our accomplishments so far.” Joey held his arms wide, waving them a little. “This year’s jubilee is an even number and everything!”

“Who cares how many years it’s been?” Sammy sneered. “I feel like I’ve been trapped here forever.”

“Me too, Sammy,” Joey said, blinking his eyes rapidly. “Me too.”

Sammy shifted his grip on his banjo, holding it close to his chest almost like a ward against a worryingly emotional Joey.

At this point it really wasn’t safe to relax, the laws of comedy clearly dictated that was when everything would spiral out of control at the studio. Henry was well versed in the laws of comedy not only because of years working as a cartoonist. However, if this was all about Joey wanting to lift the morale with a proper studio celebration other than the usual spontaneous gathering they were having now then… it was fine, they could survive another party.

Sure, Henry had spent the last one, the official Christmas party, on a wild hunt for the gag gift he knew Bendy had prepared for Sammy. He’d of course ended up accidentally setting it off, getting a face full of paint and confetti. On the plus side, Bendy had been somewhat remorseful that his prank had misfired and Sammy had even cracked a smile. Granted, it had been 99% schadenfreude but for a whole week afterwards Sammy had almost been pleasant.

“Anyway, I think this celebration requires a little more _oomph_ ,” Joey said. “We need to do something we’ve never done before.”

And there it was. No words were needed as Henry and Bendy traded worried looks before turning back to Joey.

“Now, Joey, when you say _oomph…_ what exactly do you mean?” Bendy said.

“How many fires should we expect?” Alice added.

It was a terrifyingly valid question. No one had questioned or protested when Alice pulled resources from the budget to set up extra fire safety cabinets and to organize an official _Fire Safety Day_ for the studio. The first lesson of the workshop had been never to leave occult candles in a ritualistic circle unattended.

Joey didn’t look at all insulted at what was being implied about him by his own creations, he had however been a little huffy when he had been forced to attend _Fire Safety Day_.

“I’ve got something planned. Something wonderful!” Joey’s smile nearly split his face in two. “Something that will push _Bendy the Dancing Demon_ into a bold new future.”

“Hey! Before I let you push me anywhere, I’d like to know it’s at least not off a cliff,” Bendy said. “What exactly are you talking about?”

The last time Bendy had seen Joey looking that pleased with himself, the man had summoned Alice Angel. It had worked out in the end but the point was still that when Joey Drew got an idea there could be unforeseen consequences.

Joey was still smiling. He hadn’t really ever stopped smiling.

“Oh, I couldn’t tell you that now. It’s going to be a surprise!”

Henry downed the rest of his drink in one go.

**

He tried putting the old man against the wall but Joey proved slipperier than Bendy had anticipated. After his ominous statement, Joey had excused himself from the party citing tiredness – leaving the group shell shocked. They even forgot about Sammy’s reluctant offer to play his banjo for them and that had taken the better part of the evening to get him to even agree to it.

The next day had been off to a slow start since Bendy might have imbibed a bit more ink that was strictly good for him. Joey had also proved himself hard to track down. It was almost like he was being avoided, Bendy thought before he finally managed to corner the man in his own office.

Joey looked maddeningly cheery as Bendy entered the room.

“Oh, hello! Come on in, my door is always open!” Joey winced. “Well, not if you’re going to slam it shut like that.”

“You’re not getting away this time,” Bendy said, marching up to the desk and climbing onto it in order to really stare Joey down.

“I’m not... trying to get away?” Joey looked around. “Should I be trying to escape?”

“Not if you know what’s good for you!”

“Okay then, I won’t,” Joey said and rested his chin in his hand. “I sense that you’re upset about something, Ben.”

“Oh, you think?" Bendy wasn't shouting, not yet. "What’s the big idea of getting the whole studio nervous with this talk about a _big surprise_?”

Joey leaned back in his chair, getting some space between himself and Bendy.

“From what I understand, the reason the whole studio is nervous is because you spent the whole day talking about my surprise. Honestly, I was hoping to keep it low level until I got further along but it’s alright. I forgive you. I’m quite excited about it too.”

“You… you what?”

“I completely understand your excitement. Just wait until I tell you what it is. You’re going to love it!”

“Argh!” Bendy pulled at both ends of his bow tie. “Can’t you tell me now?”

“But then it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it? Oh, I really shouldn’t have said anything yesterday.”

“It’s better that you did, now I can start planning for the coming chaos.”

“There’s no need for you to worry, Ben. Just start working on our next production and let me handle the rest. From what I’ve seen, I think this cartoon is going to be the best one yet!”

“You say that about all of them."

Joey shrugged.

“Only because it’s always the case.”

“Of course, I’m not going to settle for second best when I know we can do better!” Bendy huffed even as he stood a bit straighter and puffed out his chest. He knew how to make a pretty good cartoon that was for sure.

Joey stood up and started walking towards the door and Bendy hopped off desk, hurrying after him. Joey wasn’t getting away that easy.

“That’s why everyone is always doing their very best, because they know you’re doing it too,” Joey said as he opened the door, gently steering Bendy out with a hand on his back. “Now, I’m sure we both have a lot to do. I know I’m going to be very busy for nearest future. You know, with the surprise and all! Anyway, you know where to find me if there’s anything else you need. My door is always open!”

Joey winked at him before closing the door in his face. Sometimes Bendy suspected that Joey was more of a demon than he could ever hope to be.

**

Henry wasn’t much of any help either, except when it came to drawing up the storyboards of course, but other than that? Completely useless.

“Why aren’t you going nuts with worry right now?” Bendy said with a sour expression.

Henry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“I was worried, I’ll give you that but Joey promised the surprise wouldn’t involve anything occult sooooo… I decided to just go with it,” he said. “We’ll deal with whatever it is.”

“How very zen of you. Like you really believe that,” Bendy crossed his arms, glaring up at Henry. “Then why are you hiding out here in the alley with Sammy smoking a bazillion cigarettes? It’s not even noon, for shame.”

Henry sighed while Sammy kept on ignoring both of them like a champ.

“I’m only out here because you wouldn’t stop pestering me about Joey,” Henry said indignantly. “I’m not even smoking!”

“Excuse me? Pestering?”

“I asked you to give me some peace and quiet but you still came back just a few minutes later.”

“Yeah, because Alice and Boris pulled a disappearing act on me.”

“It’s called working, Bendy, they’re working,” Henry said with a wry smile. “I think they’re brainstorming with the writers and Jack for the next cartoon. Right, Sammy?”

Sammy offered a vaguely positive noise in reply while Bendy actually stomped his foot. It seemed to Henry, that Bendy was driven by equal measure of worry for what Joey was up to and plain old curiosity. With just a pinch of crankiness because he wasn’t getting his way. Even Joey was starting to become annoyed with how Bendy was dogging his every step.

“I can barely turn around without him badgering me,” Joey had told him when Henry arrived to his workplace that morning. “I should be offended by how he seems to think I can’t handle a small side-project. I’m a grown man, gosh darnit!”

Henry had chosen to ignore the quotation marks around _small side-project_ and instead zeroed in on the most glaring issue with Joey’s statement.

“Then what are you doing under my desk, Joey?”

“Just looking for something!” Joey chirped as he dusted off his pants before he patted Henry on the shoulder and went on his merry way.

“Under my desk?” Henry called after him.

“Bendy out did himself this time, the little imp,” Joey said, previous annoyance forgotten, momentarily at least.

“Hide what?” Henry murmured to himself but he decided to let it go because it was Joey. Something like that wasn’t worth worrying about at this point in his life.

“Why don’t you ease off a little?” Henry suggested in the present.

He figured he might as well try reasoning with Bendy, that was somehow always easier than it was with Joey. Especially since Bendy had gone through all that trouble to find him. Not that he’d been hiding from Bendy. Not at all.

“Are you saying I’m going crazy?”

“How is that anywhere near what I was saying?”

“What Henry is saying is that you’ve always been a nutcase,” Sammy said, finally deciding to join the conversation in his own helpful way.

“Come on, Lawrence”, Bendy wasn’t even bothering to rise to the obvious bait. “Aren’t you the least bit worried? You’re not Joey’s biggest fan exactly.”

“Yeah, well… “ Sammy shrugged, fixing his gaze on a pair of garbage cans further away. “I’ve gotten some perspective ever since I got turned into that… that ink abomination. I wouldn’t still be here if I thought things could get as bad as that again.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Sammy snapped his mouth shut. He whipped his head around to the glare at Henry and Bendy, as if he forgotten they were there and suddenly remembering. He almost looked startled by his own confession.

It would’ve been real easy to push a few more of Sammy’s buttons at this point but Bendy preferred a challenge. Anyone could get a reaction out of Sammy but Bendy did it with a little more finesse. Besides, it was almost painful to see Sammy flustered like he was at the moment. No one liked to think about what happened or about what if they hadn’t been able to undo it. Bendy prided himself on not being a complete jerk, not all the time at least, and did the only thing he could do to help Sammy out.

“Aw, I thought ink abomination was your pet name for me!”

“I have other things I can call you if you’d like!” Sammy snapped, almost burning himself on the cigarette in his hand when he tightened it into a fist.

Bendy really was an artist in everything he did.

“Oh, Mr Lawrence, not in front of Henry. Whatever will people say?”

With the two of them starting their usual thing, Henry began inching his way towards the door to the studio. Maybe he could get some work done finally, he thought. A thought that he realized had immediately summoned trouble. He had been just by the door when the handle turned and the door opened to reveal Norman. The loud creak from the door drew the attention of everyone in the alley, effectively ruining Henry’s quiet get away.

“I’ve been looking for you, Sammy,” Norman said and then took in the scene before him.“Why are you trying to strangle Bendy?”

He looked thoughtful and corrected his question.

“Why are you trying to strangle Bendy _this_ time?” he glanced around. “And out here in the alley?”

“Less witnesses,” Sammy muttered, making a half-hearted swipe after Bendy who slipped out of his grip, really living up this nom de guerre of the dancing demon.

“He’s just trying to whisper sweet nothings in my ear,” Bendy said as he easily jumped out of Sammy’s reach.

Norman didn’t comment, merely raised an eyebrow and said: “Well, if you don’t mind, Sammy. Alice asked for you, there’s seems to be some sort of disagreement in the music department.”

“Oh God, what is it now?”

“Don’t know the details but apparently someone called Jack’s lyrics ‘dumb’ and now we can’t find Jack at all.”

Sammy pushed past Norman and headed into the studio without a word but with a certain look on his face. Henry saw his chance and took it, rushing in after Sammy with a hurried: “Just going to make sure he doesn’t kill anyone!”

Bendy sighed, slightly impressed with how both Joey and Henry managed to give him the slip. He turned to Norman who looked undecided what his next move should be.

“Well, Norman, I don’t think we have to worry about Sammy ever losing that spark that keeps him going. That _je ne sais quoi_ as the French would say.”

Norman looked at Bendy, creasing his brow.

“Probably not? Just yesterday I saw him make a grown man cry,” Norman said. “Maybe Jack should be worried about his job security”

“Why’s that?”

Even there in the alley, with the door only slightly ajar, they could still hear curses so imaginative it could only be the music director.

“Why would the studio need a songwriter when Sammy got such a way with words?” Norman said, wincing at a particularly colorful expletive.

**

With Sammy busy wrangling the sensitive souls in the music department, hopefully without wringing anyone’s neck, and since the usually friendly ears Bendy could turn to had given him the cold shoulder, he turned to the one person that was a safe bet when it came to complaining about Joey. And if that person happened to know anything useful, all the better.

“He might know how to draw a pretty picture but Joey Drew doesn’t know squat when it comes to keeping score,” Grant Cohen said as he poured something from a hip flask into his coffee.

“Yes, absolutely!” Bendy said dutifully from his place across Grant’s desk in his cramped office.

He shook his head when Grant offered him the flask.

“Before I got here, Joey kept the books for the studio. Don’t ask me how he did it. All I can say is that it was accounting done by an idiot savant. Emphasis on the _idiot_ part.”

Grant took a large sip from his cup, wincing as he did and grimacing at the taste.

“Now this secret project of his? This fancy big idea Drew gone and got stuck in his head, it’s going to be what puts me in the obituaries.”

He stared down accusingly at the cup in his hand before shrugging and taking another sip.

“This is terrible!” Grant gestured with the cup towards Bendy. “You sure you don’t want any?”

“Uh, no thanks.”

“Suit yourself.”

Grant leaned back, the cup still in his hand.

“You know, I’d be happy as a clam if Drew would just drop a mere hint of what to expect down the road. It’s all I ask. But oh nooo! He just tells me to _not_ _worry about it_. Me! He tells _me_ not to worry about it. Like we don’t remember the last time Drew got one of his great ideas.”

“Don’t I know it,” Bendy said mournfully. He’d been coughing up feathers for a week after Alice’s revenge. Of which he might have deserved a small part of but still… “We’re still not sure if Wally ever got that raccoon out of the vents after that debacle.”

Grant frowned. He looked at the cup in his hand. Bendy could only watch in captive fascination as the man went almost cross-eyed as he drank from it again.

“Well, Joey the Genius can’t even get that he hired me for the very specific purpose of _worrying about it,_ ” Grant forced out with his lips curled in disgust, either because of Joey or because of whatever he was drinking.

He sighed and sunk down in his chair, staring gloomily at Bendy over the desk.

“I take it he didn’t tell you anything either?” Bendy said.

“Ha!” Grant gestured wildly with his hands, spilling some of his drink on the desk. “All Drew gives me are a bunch of flowery words that tells me big heaps of nothing of what he’s actually planning. Can’t even stick that in vase and make this place look pretty.”

It was probably his imagination but Bendy was pretty sure some of the papers that had gotten stained on Grant’s desk were slowly starting to fizzle.

“Should you be drinking that?”

“Probably not,” Grant said even as he took another sip. “How has this studio even survived this long?” he muttered.

Boy, if he knew that, Bendy probably wouldn’t nearly be crawling on the walls because his friend was planning a surprise.

“Look, if I hear anything, Cohen, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks… “ Grant muttered. “Say, now that you’re here anyway. You think I could write you, Alice and Boris up as Mr Drew’s dependents? For tax reasons.”

“Are you kidding?” Bendy snorted. “More like Joey’s our dependent.”

“Oh… that doesn’t help at all.”

“You're telling me!”

At this point Grant seemed to have run out of steam, he slumped in his chair so it rolled away from the desk. With a face like he was mourning the death of friend, Grant poured out the last remains of his cup down into the wastebasket.

“You know, I would almost welcome it if Drew just went ahead and summoned the legions of hell or whatever he thinks he’s doing. At least then I’d know what he was up to.”

Jeez, Bendy thought, I was hoping to dig up some dirt, not squash a man’s will to live.

“Hey, pal. I’m not going to tell you to not worry about it but… “ Bendy grinned. “I did go ahead and hid of all of Joey’s weird books.”

“Really?”

He didn’t seem fully reassured but at least Grant didn’t look like he was about to conk out anymore.

“Yep! Everything from abracadabra to Zarathustra. It’s a real good hiding spot too, Joey will never figure it out. I’ve seen him looking for them under Henry’s desk, like I would be that dumb.”

Sure, Joey had promised he wasn’t up to anything occult, supernatural or otherwise mystical in nature but Bendy figured that if he could help Joey keep his promise then all the better.

**

In the end, both Boris and Alice took pity on him.

“I’m not overreacting, right? _Don’t worry about it, Ben_ he tells me. _You’ll really like this surprise_. This does not fill me with confidence. Remember what happened the last time Joey said he had secret project?”

“Oh yeah, you mean that secret knitting project?” Boris shuddered. “I remember, he kept giving us all those sweaters. They were really itchy!”

“No, Boris… I didn’t mean that."

Bendy pinched his fingers between his eyes, he didn’t have a nose but other people’s tics were easy to pick up.

“I was thinking more along the lines of summoning cartoons with magic. You know… “ Bendy pointed at himself and then at Boris and Alice. “Us!”

“Well, we worked out pretty great, didn’t we?” Boris beamed and patted Bendy gently on the head.

“And the sweaters weren’t so bad after Joey got the hang of it and stopped using the cheap yarn,” Alice said. “Besides, this time it isn’t exactly behind our backs, is it?”

“No, I guess you’re right. Maybe I am overreacting a little… “

“Of course I’m right,” Alice smiled. “And you have been acting a bit Sammy-ish lately.”

“Okay, okay… I get it!”

“And you know Joey’s heart is in the right place at least,” Alice pointed out.

“For the most part,” Bendy muttered. “Look, I know Joey probably means well with whatever he thinks is going to add that so called _oomph_ to the studio’s anniversary. But it doesn’t matter if he means well if it all goes to hell in a hand basket.”

“You mean like when we got stuck together, literally, for a whole week?” Alice said.

“Yeah, that’s the sort of thing I’m slightly worried about.”

“It wasn’t all bad,” Boris said. “I did like the raccoon that got into the studio. We got along great together until he got into the vents and Wally had to get him out of the studio. I sure miss that little fella.”

Boris sighed.

“I was going to call him Larry.”

“Larry?” Bendy repeated.

“It’s short for Lawrence… uh, are you alright, Alice?”

“I’m fine,” Alice wheezed. “Just got… some ink stuck in my throat is all.”

She took a couple of deep breathes that she didn’t need and cleared her throat while Bendy kept a carefully grin in place. Boris eyed them suspiciously.

“Anyway, you said you hid all of his spell books, right? “ Alice said, still a little winded. “That’s a pretty good insurance that it won’t come to any more rituals and whatnot. Whatever comes, we can handle it.”

“Yeah, we got this!” Boris agreed.

Bendy reclined with unnecessary amounts of drama on the chair he was sitting, one hand over his forehead.

“Ah, the optimism of youth!”

Alice shoved him off the chair.

“Even if we can’t handle it, we seem to have pretty good thing going with Lady Luck at least,” Alice said. “Guess she can’t resist that handsome mug of yours, Boris.”

“Aw, shucks!”

Bendy picked himself off the floor.

“Hey, what about me?” he gestured to his face and puffed up his bow tie. “Look at all of this! I’m downright adorable.”

If Bendy took a break from his obsessive worry, Alice decided to put up with his usual _charming_ self. If only to be a good colleague.

**

Whatever sense of excitement, with the tiniest drop of dread, Bendy might have felt when he stepped into Joey’s crowded office was almost immediately extinguished.

“… but stagnation is the enemy of dreams!”

Joey’s speeches could turn the most harrowing situation somewhat tedious. But not even Joey launching into one of his long-winded speeches could make Bendy miss the mysterious object covered in a white sheet placed on Joey’s desk, the white fabric pooling out on the floor around it. He couldn’t tear his away from it.

Joey meanwhile somehow managed to pace back and forth as he spoke even though the room was packed. Not even Sammy, who had placed himself as close to the door as possible, was safe from almost getting slapped in the face when Joey waved his arms about to illustrate a point. Grant was standing next to Sammy and seemed to be trying to physically push himself through the wood of the door. Unlike Sammy, who kept glancing down at his watch, Grant followed Joey’s every move with a grim expression on his face.

“Reinvention and revitalization! This is the way to- “

Henry discreetly nudged Boris who had started to nod off. Joey graciously ignored the mumbled: “What? I’m awake!”

“But enough of me talking- “

“Thank God,” Sammy said, ignoring the slightly annoyed look Joey threw his way.

“- let me show you instead.”

As the room seemingly held their collective breath, Joey turned around with a flourish and took a step towards his desk and the hidden object resting upon it. The theatrics had a slight hiccup as Joey promptly managed to tangle his feet up in part of the white fabric on the floor and trip. Boris saved him the trouble of hitting the floor face first and propped him up.

“Thank you, Boris!”

“Come on already!” Bendy groaned, if he had hair he would’ve been pulling it right out by now.

Joey laughed nervously and cleared his throat.

“As I was saying, hrm, let me show you!” he said as he grabbed the sheet and managed to pull it off in one go.

The previously mysterious object on the desk was now revealed for the whole room. It was a small but delicately detailed miniature of an amusement park. In the middle of it was a tower with Bendy’s face on it. There was also miniature carousels and even a small roller-coaster with graceful slopes. As Joey flicked a switch at the side of the model, the words _Bendy Land_ lit up in all its electrical glory with tiny lights on the sign.

The ensuing silence at the sight was only broken by Grant Cohen, who gurgled miserably as he staggered closer to the model.

“An amusement park? That’s your secret project?” Grant stared at the model, blinking furiously. “How can you… and you’re only telling me now?”

“Isn’t it great?” Joey said as man who had a long time to practice the skill of completely ignoring the tone of a conversation. “It was mostly on a whim I even contacted Betrum Piedmont but it turned out he was real interested in a partnership.”

“A… a whim?” Grant took a step back, his legs unsteady and he would’ve most likely hit the floor if Henry hadn’t placed a chair behind him and gently pushed him down to sit.

“Oh God. Is it getting dark in here?” Grant whispered to no one in particular as he sat down.

“I didn’t want to say anything before I knew for sure that we had something going with Bertie. Actually, this model of _Bendy Land_ was a little gift from him. A vision of what the park could be,” Joey continued, blissfully unaware of Grant Cohen’s impending breakdown.

“Uh… wow, Joey… this is… well, I didn’t expect this… “ Henry said as he got a closer look.

“Quite the surprise, right?” Joey said, beaming at him. “So what do you think? Bertie is still working on getting us some investors but I’m hoping we can announce it for real in time for the anniversary party.”

“It’s ambitious, I’ll give you that, but I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less by now.” Henry said and looked over at Bendy. “Uh… what do you think, boss?”

The toon was standing stock-still, in the same spot as before the reveal, staring with big eyes at the model amusement park. Alice leaned over, waving her hand in front of Bendy’s face.

“Well, he’s gone- “ she started before almost getting knocked over as Bendy practically jumped a few feet in the air before racing up to the model, using Boris as a ladder to get up on the table were the model had been placed.

Somehow the tiny lights that had been installed to light up the model seemed to reflect in Bendy’s pie-eyes. It almost looked like he had literal stars in his yes.

“My own park!” it was only a whisper but Bendy was practically vibrating off the table. Boris gently pushed him away from the edge.

Joey clapped a hand on Bendy’s shoulder, leaving his other hand free to gesture wildly.

“Imagine it, Ben! Your very own _Bendy Land_. A place that will delight thousands of… NO! Millions of children for years to come!”

“Yesssss!” Bendy violently shook his head, clearing his eyes up. “Wait! While this is amazing we need to discuss the… I mean, really amazing. But we need to- oh wow, look at that! Are those boats in the shape of ducks?”

“It sure is!” Joey said with a grin big enough to rival even Bendy’s classic look.

“And there’s my face on the roller coaster carts! Gosh, this is- “ Bendy cleared his throat. “Err, what I mean is, we are of course going have to discuss this all official like as soon as Grant is done hyperventilating into that paper bag.”

“Of course, of course!” Joey held up his hands in a calm surrender. “I know this isn’t exactly the conventional way of breaking news like this but I really wanted to surprise all of you.”

“You definitely succeeded in that,” Bendy said wryly. “Because I almost- is that a tiny hot dog stand? With my face on it too?” the twinkle in his eyes had made its return. “This might be single most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Alice rolled her eyes.

“Of course he likes it,” she said as an aside to Boris. “It’s got his name on the sign and his face plastered all over it.”

“Don’t worry, you two,” Joey said, slinging an arm around Boris shoulders and smiling down at Alice. “Boris the Wolf and Alice Angel will have their place in _Bendy Land_. Your own rides at the very least. Really, this wouldn’t be possible without you two. I think Bertie mentioned a railroad for Boris and who knows what he’ll cook up for you, Alice!”

Sammy carefully poked the tiny carousel that actually twirled around gently in its place. He had sidled up to the model as soon as he'd been sure there wasn't any ink involved.

“Bertrum Piedmont? You managed to get the guy who worked with _Luna Park_?” Sammy said, eyeing the steep dip of the miniature roller coaster before scrutinize Joey himself. “I guess you’re not completely terrible at what you do. The _Witching Waves_ Piedmont built was quite fun actually.”

“Thanks!” Joey said. “I think.”

Sammy grunted and then glanced back at the rest of the room only to find most of them were now taking a break from staring at the model to instead stare at him. Even Grant paused his descent into madness in order to stare at Sammy.

“What?” Sammy barked at them.

“How come you know so much about Bertrum Piedmont and… amusement parks?” Henry said as diplomatically as he could but there really wasn’t any way to keep the incredulity out of his voice when he asked the question.

“I like amusement parks,” Sammy shrugged, masking his growing unease with suddenly being in the spotlight by glaring at each and every one. “Why are you all looking at me like I’ve grown a second head all of a sudden? You’re supposed to enjoy them.”

“No, of course you are,” Henry assured him. “I just didn’t expect you to… um… “

“I like the tiny cars, alright?” Sammy crossed his arms, his shoulders almost up by his ears. “What of it?”

He pointedly ignored how Alice suddenly found herself in the grip of a coughing fit which was interesting seeing as she didn’t necessarily need to breathe.

“I’m so glad I get to share this moment with all of you, “ Bendy proclaimed grandly. “And that we have several witnesses to Sammy Lawrence admitting that he likes _the tiny cars._ ”

“And this is only the beginning!” Joey said excitedly. “Bertie and some of his people are coming by next week so we can continue working on this together. I offered them some space at the studio that we weren’t using anyway for him to make some more mock-ups to get some investors hooked.”

“Hey, Joey?” Alice raised her hand. “That sounds great and all but how are we gonna deal with, well, you know… us?”

“Uh… “ Joey rubbed his chin, staring at her like he’d just realized that it might pose an issue, which was a real possibility that he had. “I guess we’ll have to figure something out, won’t we?”

“We always seem to manage,” Henry said with what he personally hoped wasn’t false bravado.

“But it’ll be worth it! Bertie said he was hoping to have a finished animatronic to show possible investors. He said that he and his assistant could make it move around. Dance even!”

At Joey’s words, Grant who was still sitting down, pulled out a handkerchief from the breast pocket on his blazer and started to aggressively dab at his gleaming forehead. He had a glazed look in his eyes.

“Dance?” he muttered. “How much would that be in numbers? Is it cost by step or do we get some kind of package deal?”

The handkerchief he was using had of course at some earlier point been used to wipe up some errant ink and now Grant was smearing the residue over his own face. Not that he seemed to mind that at the moment.

Joey glanced nervously towards Henry who shrugged in a way that clearly communicated _You’re on your own with this one_.

“I’m not sure?” Joey said. “Since the park won’t be up and running in a while, we probably will have to think about taking a small loan at some point just to get started but I think we can- “

Grant interrupted Joey with something in between a whimper and another miserable gurgle. He quickly pulled out a pen and started jotting down numbers on the handkerchief.

“The estimate! What’s the estimate for this? God. Joey. Someone! Please tell me there’s at least an estimate for this.”

Grant suddenly threw the ruined piece of cloth away, jumped up and grabbed Joey by the shirt collar. He was shorter than Joey but somehow he managed to loom over the other man.

“Listen, pal, I want receipts,” Grant said in a low and collected voice. “I want receipts for everything. Every business lunch, screwdriver and down to each two by four that goes into this thing.”

For every word he uttered, Grant’s voice became quieter and quieter until he was practically shoving his face into Joey’s and whispering harshly.

“Do you hear me, Drew? Nod if you understand what I’m saying.”

Joey slowly nodded and Grant unceremoniously let go of his collar. Once he was free again, Joey carefully straightened out his shirt and vest before he raised his hand.

“One question, though.”

Henry turned towards Boris, but he had already moved himself strategically closer to Grant. Good old Boris, you could always count on him.

“Did you mean starting now or- “

It took the combined efforts of Henry and Boris to stop Grant from shaking Joey to pieces.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice tries a new look. Wally runs into a problem while cleaning and there are no wasps in the basement.

Susie pursed her lips and considered her work, chin in her hand. She then dusted some pink across Alice's cheeks with precise motions. Sammy watched all this with extreme disinterest. He was only there because both Susie and Alice insisted that he needed a break. The two of them could be very persuasive together.

"I heard about the meeting last week," Susie said, her tone casual. "Quite a spectacular surprise, a whole amusement park?"

“Just another day at the office,” Alice said and then looked peeved when Susie shushed her.

“No talking, you’ll smudge it.” Susie gave Sammy a prompting look. “I heard it also ended spectacularly, with Grant almost strangling Joey.”

“Yes, it was terrible,” Sammy said.

“Oh wow, well-“ Susie did a double take, pausing in her work. “That’s strangely considerate of you to say.”

“Cohen’s technique was all wrong,” Sammy curled his lip. “I tried giving him a few pointers but Henry did that thing he does with his face.”

As if summoned by the mere utterance of his name, Henry rushed past them. He was forcing a stubborn Bendy to walk in front of him, pushing him forward with that passive insistence only Henry could do. Despite the purposefulness of his step, the sight of Alice stopped him right in his tracks.

Alice stood on a rickety footstool to get on a better level for Susie who was adding color to the toon's black and white face. Alice had put on a red hat, the brim wider than what the fashion magazines called for, and a coat that was definitely Susie's. It was a few sizes too large for Alice, if it hadn't been for the temporary extra height, the coat would've pooled on the floor around her.

“What are you doing here?” Henry managed to shout even while whispering. “Also, what are you _doing here_?”

“That’s the face I was talking about,” Sammy informed anyone willing to listen. “The one he’s doing right there.”

“Susie is helping me create a disguise for when Piedmont shows up," Alice said and ignored Susie shushing her. She put on a pair of large sunglasses that she'd tucked into the right coat pocket. "The animation department has the best light, that's why we're here."

“And still it doesn’t do anything for ya,” Bendy snickered while Alice stuck her tongue out at him.

Susie gave Henry a rueful smile. “Sorry, Henry. I promised her we’d try this and see how it looked. We’ll be out of your hair when Piedmont shows up for the official tour of the studio."

Henry exhaled slowly. “About that, he’s already here. I was trying to find somewhere to hide Bendy.”

“Which I resent," Bendy said.

“Piedmont’s here now?” Sammy frowned. “Wasn’t he supposed to be here this afternoon?”

“Yeah, well,” Henry sighed. “Apparently Bertrum Piedmont arrives when he likes. Which means Joey could show up with him here at any time now."

“This how it going to be?" Alice said with a barely concealed pout. "We're going to have to skulk around our own home while he's here?"

“When I said we'd figure out what to do when Piedmont and his people showed up, this was not what I meant,” Henry said.

“Why not? You let Bendy go outside the studio with those glasses and mustache,” Alice groused.

“'Let him' isn't exactly how that happened," Henry said, dragging a hand across his face. At least Norman was keeping Boris safe and out of the way. “Please, let's get this day over with and I promise we'll find a better way."

“Ugh, fine!” Alice put the glasses back on but it was hard to mad when Henry did his whole 'I'm disappointed and tired'-routine. “I still don’t like having to hide and sneak around in the studio,” she said as a final word on the matter.

“I’m with Alice on this one,” Bendy said with his arms crossed, tapping out a staccato with his foot. "It's going to be difficult to do our job if we've got to sneak around."

"Joey forgets the consequences when he gets excited, I know. This'll be temporary, Piedmont's only here to get _Bendy Land_ on its feet," Henry said.

Bendy seemed torn. Whenever someone mentioned _Bendy Land_ , he got a special kind of gleam in his eyes, but he also looked like he wanted to stay annoyed. Before he'd decided on where to go emotionally, they all heard voices getting closer to the animation department. One awfully familiar voice and another, less familiar, voice.

Henry's eyes widened to comical proportions and with surprising speed, he grabbed Alice by the shoulders.

“Quick, Bendy, get in here!” Henry said, dangling a shocked Alice in the air. If he hadn't been panicking, Henry would've enjoyed the sudden twin looks of puzzlement on Bendy's and Sammy's faces.

“Wh-what?” Bendy said.

“Get inside the coat!” Henry urged.

“What? No!” Bendy took a step back, looking quite scandalized. "Not even she throws in a dinner and a movie!"

"Oh, please!" Alice huffed.

Henry took the decision out of their hands. He placed Alice on top of Bendy's shoulder's and closed the coat around them 

“You could’ve at least taken off your heels!” Bendy said.

“Sorry!” Alice sing-songed and sounded anything but sorry. She had to lean on Henry a little to stay upright.

“Sssshhh!” Henry whispered, shoving at them, as the voices came even closer.

“Don’t you shush me, Henry Stein, I’ll have you know I’m still your boss and-” Bendy yelped. “Will you stop digging your heels into me, angel?”

“Ssshh!” Alice said, he smile had a slight shade of smug to it.

“This isn’t going to work!” Sammy whispered to Henry. “Even with the lipstick, she doesn't look... I mean, she's in black and white!"

"Too late now!” Susie nudged Sammy quiet as Joey and Bertrum Piedmont came into view.

Joey was in the lead, or rather was pushing Piedmont along with a firm hand on the man's back. While Joey was brimming with his usual energy, talking a mile a minute, Piedmont looked like he had little to no interest in what Joey was telling him.

“Anyway,” Joey said as he seemed to reach the end of a long monologue. “Here you have the animation department, Bertie.”

Bertrum's face twisted for a second into a grimace of distaste at the shortened version of his name. Something Joey didn't notice at all as he gestured toward the entirety of the room.

“This is where the magic happens!” Joey declared with pride.

“No it isn’t! No magic here!” Henry blurted out.

Susie gently cleared her throat in the sudden silence.

“I mean, sure!" Henry forced out a laugh, his eyes flickered towards Alice who wore a strained smile. "Hard work and whatnot.”

Joey began the introductions: “You've already met Henry, Bertie. But here's our wonderful music director, Sammy Lawrence. Susie Campbell, the angelic voice of none other than Alice Angel!"

Joey's voice faltered when his eyes fell on Alice. "And this is uh... "

“Uh… say, Joey," Henry cut in. "You remember my um… sister? Alice?"

“Sister? But- oomf!”

Joey turned towards Sammy with the look of a puppy who had been kicked for no reason. In his case, the kick had been a friendly nudge delivered by Sammy's elbow right under his ribs. Sammy's expression didn't waver, except for the tiniest trace of a pleased smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Lovely to meet you, Mr Piedmont,” Alice hurried to say and stuck out her hand.

Bertrum didn't spare a glance in Joey's direction. He took her hand, with some hesitance, and tried to look at her. His eyes watered and no matter how many times he tried looking straight at her, his gaze darted off to the side.

Henry breathed an internal sigh of relief. He knew that look. It was the same looks Bendy got on their lunch breaks out in the park. Anyone who tried to give the strange short guy with Groucho-glasses a closer look seemed to lose their interest quick enough. Looking at Bendy in disguise for too long, no matter how terrible, always made a spot right behind the eyes. As if the human brain didn't know what to make of it.

"Are you alright?" Bertrum said, staring at a spot right above Alice's left shoulder. "You look a little pale, miss."

“Um, I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather. You know how it is," Alice said.

"Yes... " Bertrum wiped his hand on a monogrammed handkerchief. He glanced at Joey, who was still a little winded after Sammy's friendly nudge. "Might be a bug going around the place."

Joey finally managed to get his bearings back and Henry shot him a meaningful look.

"Say, Bertie," Joey started, putting his hand on Bertrum's shoulder. "What do say about continuing our tour with a trip to the music department?" He maintained a perfectly innocent look as he continued; "I'm sure Sammy here would be delighted to show us around. Right, Sammy?"

“If Mr Lawrence insists, I guess I can take some time to see his music department," Bertrum said.

Everyone but Bertrum then witnesses a small miracle. Sammy pushed the clear indignation to the side and muttered a quiet agreement. He trailed after Joey and Bertrum, his shoulders hunched up and hands deep in his pockets. When the three of them were out of the room, Henry allowed himself to relax. The rest of the animation department sounded like they all let out a collective sigh of relief too.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Susie said, bracing herself against the closest table.

“Never underestimate a nice hat,” Alice said as Henry helped her down.

“I’ll never underestimate a viscous pair of heels again,” Bendy said and rubbed his shoulders with a slight wince. “You could kill someone with those, Angel.”

“Thanks!” Alice chirped.

Henry took a moment to thank whatever powers had made their slapstick ploy work. He had hoped that it would work but hadn't been sure.

He'd seen Bendy leaving literal Bendy-shaped holes in the air when he made a sudden dash to get away from, well, mostly Sammy. There had also been that one time when Bendy had walked off the edge off a desk, only to fall down after he looked down.

Henry didn’t have the strength or will to question any of it. There were some things in the universe, he'd decided, he was not meant to know.

**

Piedmont's people kept to themselves under Bertrum's strict guidance, which seemed to be for the best. Joey had let them take over the basement of the studio to use as a workplace. It meant the toons could move about in the studio during the day, almost without any risk of discovery. There had been a close call. Shawn had saved the day by shoving a lamp shade on Boris' head and played it off as prototype for a novelty lamp stand.

Other than his habit to launch into grandiose speeches about his accomplishments, rivaling Joey's pontifications, Bertrum didn't kick up too much fuss. He didn't even seem to mind the general disarray the ink pipes caused in parts of the studio. All he said about it was that he was used to the 'artistic types and their disorganized minds' by now.

"All they need is someone with a vision," he told Henry who had tried to not look at Lacie Benton rolling her eyes behind Bertrum's back.

Their biggest problem turned out to be trying to keep Joey away from Bertrum. The man was shock full of good ideas that he simply had to share with Bertrum, much to the latter's chagrin. It was like watching a man poking a bear, again and again.

Henry hadn't thought it possible to find a worse fit than Joey Drew and Sammy Lawrence, but here they were. If anything, Joey and Bertrum were worse together than Joey and Sammy had ever been. That or Henry had forgotten how bad it used to be. Sammy had either mellowed out over the years or he'd reached levels of rage that had left him desensitized to Joey’s special brand of a personality.

With Bertrum however, their animosity only escalated every day. It built on itself like a tower that was going to topple over any day now. The negativity spread throughout the studio with the same speed the ink pipes had done when they first appeared.

The fact that even Bendy was getting annoyed by the whole thing seemed to fray on Joey's nerves. It somehow made the man more determined to make _Bendy Land_ become the perfect thing he'd envisioned it to be. That in turn resulted in more confrontations between Joey and Bertrum.

**

“I don’t get it,” Joey said to Sammy as he waltzed into the music director’s office.

Sammy was at loss for words as Joey sat himself down as if a tête-a-tête was an everyday occurrence between them.

“If you’re looking for Henry, he isn’t here,” Sammy finally said.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you. About Bertie.” Joey sighed. “I don’t know what to do about that man. We've reached the point where he's angry with me even before our meetings starts. When the meeting's over, he always leaves in a big huff, no matter what I try!"

"What about it?" Sammy leaned on his desk, chin in his hand. "I thought you'd be used to that sort of reaction by now."

"Yes, well... " Joey ran a hand through his hair. "I can't afford to lose this partnership. That's why I wanted to talk to you. We've had our differences in the past but it was never this bad with you. I don't get Bertie at all!"

“I’m insulted by the implication that you think that you _get me_ ,” Sammy said in a frosty tone.

“We both want the same thing, me and Bertie. For _Bendy Land_ to be a success! So why is it that everything I do and say seem to bring this partnership closer to coming to an end?”

Joey actually looked about ready to start pulling his hair out. It was a novel situation for Sammy to be the calm and collected one.

“Look, if we skip the fact that you're you and your general... you-ness... " Sammy made a vague gesture that still managed to encompass everything Joey Drew was and would ever be. “What works for me is that you usually leave me to it. I'm not your biggest fan but you let me work in peace. That helps. Some days I don't even see or hear from you at all." Sammy sighed. "Those are the good days."

“Yes, yes… “ Joey muttered.

“With Bertie… Bertrum, I mean, you keep getting on the man's last nerve. I guess you've got an innate talent for that. He thinks you're meddling in his work. He's been very vocal about how you've dismissed every other suggestion he submitted. And how the ones you do like, you keep changing all the time."

Joey’s shoulders slumped. “ _Bendy Land_ needs to be perfect. Shouldn’t Bertie, as a fellow visionary, understand that?"

Sammy pinched the bride of his nose. "You could at least try to not call him Bertie," he suggested.

"Why?" Joey scratched his head. "Everyone likes a fun nickname!”

“What? No! Why would you think that?” Sammy took a deep breath. “You’re lucky that I actually prefer Sammy.”

“What to do you mean?”

Sammy stared at Joey with a blank expression. “How does Henry put up with this?”

“With what?”

Sammy buried his face in his hands and groaned.

**

The fact was, Henry was not putting up with it. With any of it. At all. If it hadn't been for Bendy Henry would've stayed as far away as possible from the constant storm that was the Drew & Piedmont partnership. Henry wasn't convinced he was up to the task of stopping Joey from creating any fires that would end with _Bendy Land _going up in smoke.__

__And even if Bendy hadn't begged him to, complaints and the people who had them always seemed to find their way to Henry. One way or another._ _

__"Instead of oversharing your opinions, you could focus on making Piedmont's stay here a little easier?" Henry said to Joey. "His people have talked about hearing weird sounds down in their workshop. It almost sounds like they think the studio's haunted."_ _

__“That’s ridiculous!” Joey said. “There’s no such thing as ghosts.”_ _

__“Really?” Henry rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead. “That’s where you’re drawing the line?”_ _

__Joey narrowed his eyes. “What I do… did... is... was completely different. What weird sounds are they even talking about?"_ _

__Henry shrugged. "I think the pipes have been acting up down there. Didn’t even know they went that far down in the studio. And Lacie Benton mentioned something about hearing strange noises coming from the walls.”_ _

__Joey froze. “You don't think… “ he gestured for Henry to lean forward. “You don’t think it could be wasps, do you?” he asked in a low voice._ _

__"What?"_ _

__“They built nests in vents and such things," Joey went on in a hushed voice, as if afraid the hypothetical wasps were listening in._ _

__“I’ll ask Wally to check,” Henry said and gave Joey a pat on the shoulder. "So uh... you and Piedmont can rest easy."_ _

__“You better,” Joey nodded sagely, still speaking in almost a whisper. “I’ve heard they crawl into your ear and lay eggs.”_ _

__Henry blinked. “Isn't that earwigs?” he hazarded._ _

__“Don’t be ridiculous, Henry. That’s an old wives’ tale.”_ _

__Not for the first time in his life since he started working at the studio, Henry could feel an insistent twitch in his left eye._ _

__**_ _

__Wally, meanwhile, was wondering, also not for the first time in his life, if working at _Joey Drew Studios_ would sooner or later earn him a one way ticket to a comfortable and padded room. With a stylish white jacket to match._ _

__“It’s like that guy, you know, pushing the boulder up the hill and down it goes every time," he said as he fruitlessly swept the floor with the mop._ _

__The ink seeped its way everywhere and into everything. The studio was when hell when it came to keeping the place nice and tidy._ _

__“Sisyphus?” Lacie said, rapping the wrench in her hand against her worktable._ _

__“Gesundheit!”_ _

__Lacie rolled her eyes. “You’d get a lot more done if you’d actually swept that mop around some instead of yapping my ear off," she said._ _

__There was no need to be rude. Wally was the one with all the sudden extra work when everyone expected him to clean down in the basement too. There was the workshop where most of Piedmont's people worked and then there was the big one that was Bertrum Piedmont's private work place._ _

__But as someone who had the ungrateful task of trying to keep the studio in tiptop conditions, Wally noticed things. Things people who were busy making up songs, drawing dancing skeleton or building doo-hickeys never noticed._ _

__Cleaning up ink spills made him notice the pipes for instance. They crawled throughout the whole building. Springing up from the ink machine without as much as a "How do you do?" before forking off and spreading through the walls and the floors like weeds. Sometimes Wally thought the pipes grew into place over night._ _

__Most days Wally didn't think about that but there were days when he could see, out of the corner of his eye, pipes bending into shapes he'd never seen before._ _

__Sometimes he thought about how some corridors in the studio connected with rooms that were on a different floor. Without the help of stairs or elevators. Thinking about that always ended up giving him a headache, which was probably why no one else thought too much about it either. The whole studio had turned into something that laughed in the face of basic geometry._ _

__Despite all that, Piedmont's private workshop still made Wally feel uneasy. For one thing, he wasn't sure the space it inhabited had always been there. It must have been, he reasoned, because big rooms didn't appear out of thin air. The pipes down there looked like they'd always been there. Even the new ones Wally saw every other day when he came down to clean._ _

__He dragged his mop a final time across the floor. At least he was getting pretty good at cleaning up ink._ _

__“Much appreciated,” Lacie said._ _

__Wally decided to be gracious and forgive her for her earlier rudeness._ _

__“No problem, miss,” Wally said, fishing out a rag of his pocket to clean off some of the ink from his hands. “Part of the job.”_ _

__“You've got your work cut out for you then," Lacie said and nodded towards the closest wall. “Those pipes aren’t in the best of conditions.”_ _

__“Don’t I know it," Wally said with a sigh. "Joey told me to keep an eye on the pipe pressure but I deal with enough as it is. Being the mop and key guy around here is hard work and it’s not like I’m plumber or anything."_ _

__“I’m starting to become painfully aware of that you’re not a plumber, Mr Franks," Lacie said in a flat voice._ _

__“Yeah!” Wally threw his hands out. “I’m just the guy that keeps this place nice for everyone!”_ _

__A Roraschach-esque image splattered onto the nearest wall from the rag Wally waved around._ _

__"FRANKS!”_ _

__Wally jerked in surprise and almost knocked the bucket filled with inky water over._ _

__“If you’re done distracting my employee, could I perhaps bother you to clean this up?” Bertrum said through clenched teeth, gesturing at the floor. “And when you’re done, might you take the time out of your busy schedule and go to the carousel workshop? I don’t want more ink staining my work area.”_ _

__Bertrum left without waiting for an answer._ _

__“You see?” Wally muttered to Lacie. “This is the kind of pressure I have to deal with.”_ _

__“Say what you want about Bertrum, he takes his work seriously," Lacie said. "He might act as if he's above the rest of us but he gets his hands dirty with the cogs and gears. Thing is, taking work seriously all the time gets him worked up from time to time."_ _

__"I still hate cleaning around that carousel of his."_ _

__"You should consider yourself lucky," Lacie said. "I've only got a small peek at what he's been working on in there."_ _

__Wally shuddered. "It gives me the creeps. Like something's watching me."_ _

__Instead of scoffing, like Wally was used to, Lacie looked tense. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she said. Then she banged the wrench against the table, breaking the spell. "So get in there and get it over with."_ _

__**_ _

__Wally wrung out the mop before sweeping it across the floor with an almost aggressive flourish. Oh, that Mr Piedmont knew how to build a fancy machine alright. It reminded Wally of a certain someone and not in a good way._ _

__He put the mop down, both hands on the handle, and leaned most of his weight against it as he regarded the machine. Well, it was carousel but it didn't look any fun somehow. Wally had spent his salary on an amusement park or two but nothing had ever spooked him like this. Not even that haunted train ride that had all his friends shrieking like banshees._ _

__Haunted houses and train rides were nothing compared to working at the studio but he was used to it by now. The noise the pipes made. Magic and demons. It wasn't all that frightening after you actually met Boris and Alice. They were nice. Bendy too, unless he was in a mood for a prank._ _

__Down here in the basement, in Piedmont's workshop, the feeling was all wrong. It was quiet. The studio was never quiet. Oh sure, he could the sound of the other workers clanking away at the prototypes for _Bendy Land_ but it sounded muffled. As if they were far away and not in the room next to Wally. Then again, the quiet was better than the noises he would hear down here. Low scratching noises that sounded like someone was dragging their nails on the other side of the walls. The occasional loud creak from the carousel that made Wally jump._ _

__Wally rather clean the music department than spend another second in Piedmont's workshop. Though it looked like he would be stuck down here for a while. He'd already spent what felt like half an eternity and most of the floor was still black as... well... ink._ _

__It soaked into the mop and the water in his bucket had to be more ink than water by now. He wasn't getting anywhere at this rate. Wally leaned back and made to pick the mop up only to have it pulled down with enough force to set splinters into his whole palm._ _

__"Uh... " Wally took a look around to see if he had any witnesses. There was no one but him in the room. He stared at the mop and cautiously lifted the mop away from the floor. Then he could only stare as something rose up from the ink puddle._ _

__It twisted and curled around itself until it looked like a hand, all shiny and ink-black. Wally could almost see his own distorted reflection in it. The inky hand rose up and grabbed the handle, right above the base of the mop._ _

__Wally tugged at the mop, the ink tugged back._ _

__“Um… “ Wally said to no one in particular._ _

__This was new._ _

__He made another valiant effort to get his mop back. Mr Cohen had told him it wasn't in the budget to get him a new one this month after all. The ink didn't seem to harbor any sympathy for Wally's work situation. It pulled the mop out of his hands with brutal force and threw it against the wall. The mop had done nothing to deserve such treatment in Wally's humble opinion._ _

__Any concern for the mop or how he was going to explain this to Mr Cohen went out the window in Wally's mind when more of the ink rose up from the puddle._ _

__Wally took a step back, not daring to turn his back to it, even to run. The ink almost looked like Sammy had when he got himself turned into that living ink blot. Almost. Sammy had still looked like a person in a way that the darkness before Wally absolutely didn't. The ink appeared to be trying to figure out how a person looked and not having a very good go at it._ _

__The inky mass reached for him and Wally decided to go with the working strategy of backing away in a hurry. The floor around him was still slippery with spilled ink and to his horror, he lost his footing. The fall knocked the air out of his lungs but Wally didn't care about that or how the ink soaked his boilersuit. All he cared about was getting as far away as he could. Only he couldn't._ _

__More hands had formed from the ink and they had a tight grip around his ankles._ _

__"No, no, no... " Wally whimpered and shook his head, feet kicking to no avail. He couldn't stop staring at the inky mass before him._ _

__A thing without eyes shouldn't be able to look at him. Wally had the cold realization settle in, that despite the impossibility of it, the inky terror was definitely looking at him. It loomed over him._ _

__Would they even notice if he disappeared?_ _

__Sammy might. Without Wally around, there would be one less person for him to yell at._ _

__Taking a cue from the music director, Wally closed his eyes and screamed for everything he was worth. The ink was cold. When he ran out of breath, Wally took a break from screaming to gulp down more air which was when he realized nothing had happened._ _

__He opened one eye. The ink still loomed over him, waiting. Then the liquid mass shuddered and drew in on itself. Dissolving into a perfect ink puddle that seeped through the floor boards and into the walls until there was nothing left but a few stains._ _

__Wally was still trying to remember how to breathe when the door the workshop slammed open._ _

__"What's all the racket about?" Piedmont paused in his step, frowning. "Why are you on the floor, Mr Franks?"_ _

__Wally scrambled to his feet. "I... the ink, it was... " he snapped his mouth shut. They weren't supposed to talk about the ink._ _

__Piedmont let out a long suffering sigh. "If you're quit done goofing around, I'd be grateful if you'd let me have some peace and quiet," Piedmont said, pointing at still open door. "Out."_ _

__He sounded like the very concept of 'goofing around' was an affront to his very existence._ _

__Wally preferred Sammy yelling at him, it was better than Piedmont's thinly veiled antipathy. At least Sammy put his heart in loathing Wally. He left quickly, not caring about leaving both his mop and bucket down in the workshop._ _

__His boilersuit was soaked in ink and that was the only, if weak, proof Wally had that something had happened. That it hadn't all been in his head. Then again, Wally had worked long enough in the studio to know that what you thought were just in your imagination could turn out be quite real._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who left comments and kudos. I didn’t expect much of a response when I posted the first chapter since it was ages ago I started writing this series. I appreciate it all so much! :)


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